Four men granted bail in statue damage case

Four men from Northern Ireland who are charged with causing an estimated £50,000 worth of damage to the statue of Padraic O Conaire at Eyre Square, Galway last week were remanded on bail when they appeared before Galway District Court yesterday. Mr Sean O'Carroll, defending, applied for bail on behalf of all four. Garda Insp Tony O'Donnell said while he would not be directly opposing bail, it should be set at a rather substantial sum because they lived outside the jurisdiction of Irish courts.

Mr Gareth Leahy (20), of The Hermitage; Mr John McManus (20), of Rock Road; Mr Gary O'Connor (19), of Drumbreda Avenue, and Mr Gavin McNaney (18), of Ashley Avenue, all Armagh, were all charged with the damage to the statue at Eyre Square in the early hours of Friday morning.

Judge John Garavan agreed that the bail should be substantial, because the accused were from outside the jurisdiction and because the damage was estimated at such a high figure.

Insp O'Donnell said due to the nature of the charges, the case would have to be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr McManus was remanded on bail on his own surety of £1,000 and an independent surety of £10,000. The other men were each remanded on bail on their own surety of £1,000 and a cash lodgement of £10,000 in lieu of sureties to appear at Galway District Court on May 17th next.